Vitec already has Teradek, so why has it bought another wireless video company?

The Vitec Group has acquired Paralinx, a California-based company known for its ultralight realtime and uncompressed video monitoring systems that has been doing a lot of work both with DoPs on set and with UAVs.

At first glance it seems a bit of an odd deal to make, after all Vitec already owns Teradek and that is one of the leaders in the wireless video space. However, by adding Paralinx to the group it is now able to address different ends of the market that have very different budgets to spend — high-end cinema and broadcast with Teradek, UAV operators and what it refers to as ‘independent content creators’ with Paralinx.

Currently the Paralinx range runs from the $1400 Triton system up to the $7000 Tomahawk that has an impressive range of up to 600m (2000 feet).

And then there are all the possible synergies that meshing the two companies’ R&D teams together can lead to, especially when you factor in the other company in Vitec’s now growing Creative Solutions division, SmallHD which specialises in field monitors. This is already addressing both ends of the market with its $599 AC7 monitor pitched at DSLR shooters, aerial cinematographers and the like, and then the $1499 and upwards DP7 Pro which adds realtime 3D LUTs and even a 1500nit daylight visible model for an extra $1000.

Certainly it will be interesting to see what the division as a whole can come up with once they start sharing their technologies in earnest.

Andy has spent over two decades writing about all aspects of the broadcast and film industries for a variety of high-profile industry publications on both sides of the Atlantic. During that time the industry has moved from 4:3 SD to 16:9 SD to HD and now on to 4K HDR. He's getting kind of curious to see where it goes next.